In 1985, Cliff Ronning was showered with accolades as he wrapped up his two-year career with the New Westminster Bruins of the WHL. He won the league's scoring race and was voted the WHL's MVP and selected as a First-Team All-Star.

But when the NHL draft was held, the diminutive centreman didn't stand tall enough to rate very highly in the minds of the NHL's brass. Instead, it would be up to Ronning to prove himself all over again, this time, at the NHL level.

He was eventually picked up in the sixth round by the St. Louis Blues. But Ronning had a strong relationship with Canada's Olympic program. His flashy style, mobility, and scoring touch were well-suited to an international style of hockey. So, he skated for Team Canada for the bulk to the 1985-86 campaign. He then joined the Blues for the playoffs of that year and picked up his first two NHL points.

The following season, he split his campaign between Team Canada and the Blues. Time spent in both camps seemed indicative of an absence of a defined role for Ronning with the Blues. He did have one strong season in 1988-89 when he netted 59 points in 79 games. Nonetheless, a year later, he left the NHL to play in Italy for a year.

Upon his return in 1990-91, he rejoined the Blues for a short time but was then traded to the Vancouver Canucks. Once his NHL season came to an end, Ronning joined Canada's National Team at the 1991 World Championships.

Closer to home in Vancouver, Ronning's big-league career finally began to take shape. In his first three seasons with the club, he was able to wheel in an offensive mode. His numbers became predictably solid each year and he always kept his defensive game reigned in on a fairly tight string.

In 1996, at age 31, Ronning became an unrestricted free agent and signed with the Phoenix Coyotes. He lasted for just over two seasons in the desert before being sent to the fledgling Nashville Predators. There, Ronning's veteran presence and consistent scoring punch helped prevent the Preds from becoming an expansion doormat.

After parts of four seasons in Nashville, Ronning was dealt to the Los Angeles Kings in the latte stages of the 2001-02 season. Ronning would play only 14 games with the Kings before he was traded to the Minnesota Wild in the summer of 2002. During the 2002-03 season Ronning surpassed the 800-point plateau and was a key player in Minnesota's run to the 2003 post season.

In 2003-04, Ronning signed as a free-agent with the New York Islanders where he would appear in 40 games with the club. Following a lock out year, Ronning announced his retirement from NHL on February 15. 2006

REGULAR SEASON

PLAYOFFS

Season

Club

League

GP

G

A

TP

PIM

+/-

GP

G

A

TP

PIM

1982-83

New Westminster Royals

BCJHL

52

83

68

151

22

1983-84

New Westminster Bruins

WHL

71

69

67

136

10

9

8

13

21

10

1984-85

New Westminster Bruins

WHL

70

89

108

197

20

11

10

14

24

4

1985-86

Canada

Nat-Tm

71

55

63

118

53

1985-86

St. Louis Blues

NHL

5

1

1

2

2

1986-87

Canada

Nat-Tm

26

17

16

33

12

1986-87

St. Louis Blues

NHL

42

11

14

25

6

-1

4

0

1

1

0

1987-88

St. Louis Blues

NHL

26

5

8

13

12

+6

1988-89

St. Louis Blues

NHL

64

24

31

55

18

+3

7

1

3

4

0

1988-89

Peoria Rivermen

IHL

12

11

20

31

8

1989-90

HC Asiago

Italy

36

67

49

116

25

6

7

12

19

4

1990-91

St. Louis Blues

NHL

48

14

18

32

10

+2

1990-91

Vancouver Canucks

NHL

11

6

6

12

0

-2

6

6

3

9

12

1990-91

Canada

WEC-A

10

1

4

5

8

1991-92

Vancouver Canucks

NHL

80

24

47

71

42

+18

13

8

5

13

6

1992-93

Vancouver Canucks

NHL

79

29

56

85

30

+19

12

2

9

11

6

1993-94

Vancouver Canucks

NHL

76

25

43

68

42

+7

24

5

10

15

16

1994-95

Vancouver Canucks

NHL

41

6

19

25

27

-4

11

3

5

8

2

1995-96

Vancouver Canucks

NHL

79

22

45

67

42

+16

6

0

2

2

6

1996-97

Phoenix Coyotes

NHL

69

19

32

51

26

-9

7

0

7

7

12

1997-98

Phoenix Coyotes

NHL

80

11

44

55

36

+5

6

1

3

4

4

1998-99

Phoenix Coyotes

NHL

7

2

5

7

2

+3

1998-99

Nashville Predators

NHL

72

18

35

53

40

-6

1999-00

Nashville Predators

NHL

82

26

36

62

34

-13

2000-01

Nashville Predators

NHL

80

19

43

62

28

+4

2001-02

Nashville Predators

NHL

67

18

31

49

24

0

2001-02

Los Angeles Kings

NHL

14

1

4

5

8

0

4

0

1

1

2

2002-03

Minnesota Wild

NHL

80

17

31

48

24

-6

17

2

7

9

4

2003-04

New York Islanders

NHL

40

9

15

24

2

+3

4

0

0

0

0

NHL Totals

1137

306

563

869

453

126

29

57

86

72

BCJHL Coastal Division First All-Star Team (1983) WHL Rookie of the Year (1984) WHL West First All-Star Team (1985) WHL Player of the Year (1985)

Traded to Vancouver by St. Louis with Geoff Courtnall, Robert Dirk, Sergio Momesso and St. Louis' 5th round pick (Brian Loney) in 1992 NHL Draft for Dan Quinn and Garth Butcher, March 5, 1991. Signed as a free agent by Phoenix, July 1, 1996. Traded to Nashville by Phoenix with Richard Lintner for future considerations, October 31, 1998. Traded to Los Angeles by Nashville for Jere Karalahti and Los Angeles' 4th round pick (Teemu Lassila) in 2003 NHL Draft, March 16, 2002. Traded to Minnesota by Los Angeles for Minnesota's 4th round pick (Aaron Rome) in 2002 NHL Draft, June 22, 2002. Signed as a free agent by NY Islanders, January 9, 2004. Officially announced his retirement, February 15, 2006.